Ieper Belgium

Welcome to a small hamlet in Western Belgium. Ieper or Ypres (there are 27 different spellings for the town) became prominent in the textile trade, as bustling as Brugges or Ghent in Belgium. Sadly a seige caused business to go elsewhere and the city dwindled in size. It was thrust onto the international scene during World War I. The city is walled and the most ornate building is the Cloth Hall, built in the 1200s and then rebuilt after the war. In 1914, it was the last remaining region unoccupied by the Germans and became a massive battlefield. Allied forces occupied it in hopes of preventing the Germans from sweeping southward and occupying French sea ports. Over 300,000 British, Australian and Canadian forces met their deaths in Flanders. The number of German dead is not known, as records were destroyed and victors write the history books. The area was completely demolished by war. Aerial pictures revealed a flattened, war torn landscape.

Melissa and I successfully navigated the train system to Ieper. We entered the train station in hopes of finding a city map but found a very nice park ranger from Montana instead. A U2 and history fanatic, he enthusiastically gave us directions to the main road that our directions indicated that our B&B was on. We wandered through the city, on cobblestone streets and through the main square (that had to be refurbished following the war) and then realized that Menin Road ended and our B&B was not in sight. We stopped at a British WWI shop and the lady kindly called the B&B. We waited for Alaine to pick us up outside of Menin Gate, a memorial to the soldiers of the British Empire who were never found. 54,896 names are chiseled into the stone. Melissa noted that we walked under a memorial commemorating the "War to End All Wars" on September 11, the events of which have led America into two more wars. Alaine arrived in a little red Fiat. After whizzing through the countryside and passing many graveyards we arrived at the Protea B&B. A safari themed room greeted us. It turns out that Alaine lived in South Africa for 12 years and that the Protea is the national flower of South Africa. I must say that one does not expect a safari when visiting a WWI battlefield in Belgium. We walked into the neighboring village of Gelivuld in search for food. We did not find any. It turns out that cafe means beer but no food. We stopped at a small market that had a meat counter and odds and ends. Not exactly the carb loading feast I was hoping for prior to my first marathon. We walked the 2 miles back to the B&B and asked for a dinner recommendation. Alaine loaned us two bikes and gleefully laughed at us as we peddled off. Our directions went something like this, "Go out here, turn right on the road where the road goes down the hill and go straight. The road will go off to the left but don't worry, just keeping going straight. Don't worry, you won't miss it." Surprisingly, these directions were sufficient. Nonnibus was a family friendly restaurant with a large kiddy air castle in the back. Children were very present, loud and barefoot. We ordered from a Dutch menu (meat and pepper kabobs, fries, and salad with a dollop of mayo on top) which was actually quite good. We then had a sorbet and fruit sundae with a mysterious green sauce that was delicious and made all the small children envious. We then switched on the bike head lamps and road back through the country side to our safari room. I only wish I had the words to convey just how odd and random and filled with laughter our day was. Truly an adventure.